Yippeeeee!!!!!!!!

Well, it is said that a picture says a thousand words...

After making three phone calls, going through two hankies and generally getting very dramatic I was given the news that the tests for the amniocentisus detected no chromozonal abnormalities... We are thrilled to think that we have jumped this hurdle (or Beanie has!) It is a huge comfort to know that Beanie will not have to face the same challenges as Daniel did. That said, it does not change the way we felt or feel about our little smiler. We do feel very blessed not to have to deal with the same issues as Daniel and I like to think that he is sitting beaming away knowing that his little brother or sister looks healthy.

I could have chosen to find out whether Beanie is a girl or boy but despite wavering longer than I do when choosing sweets in a sweetshop, I felt that I would stick to my original decision not to know. Being healthy is the most important thing that we could wish for our child.

Thanks for all the emails, texts and phone calls, not to mention the prayers. It has been a hugely difficult time and I feel that a weight has been lifted. I have my 20 week scan on 8th January which will look at any physical irregularities and after this I think that I might learn to relax a little.

Things are improving at work too...

Wishing each and every one of you every blessing at Christmas.

No News

The news is there is no news... Two weeks exactly to the day, I still don't know my amnio results. I was expecting them within 2 weeks by phone so there' s no excuse for the Christmas post! I was told today that I am too patient!!!! Those of you that know me will appreciate this is a huge stretch of the imagination. :-) Anyway, who knows now whether we will have this news by Christmas and I just don't think I can face yet another Christmas of putting a brave face on. The last 4 Christmases have been hugely difficult we actually wanted to be able to relax and not be weighted down this time. So you can see that I'm struggling a bit. To cap it all, I am having the week from hell with stressful work situations and I feel like a petulant child wanting to shout STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF!!

Still on a different note, I am still lighter (marginally) than I was at the beginning of my pregnancy and I'm now 18 weeks. Don't know how that's happened really as I've been having a bit of a craving for.... Creme Eggs. Well, I like them at the best of times and now I just can't enough of them (I ate 3 in one day!!) As I'm working in between Christmas and New Year (3 days) someone even bought me one for each day I was working (more like one an hour...)

In case, I don't blog before Christmas, Happy Christmas to everyone and every blessing for the year ahead.

:-)

Sarah

Update

Thanks to everyone who prayed for the amnio on Wednesday. Sorry, that I haven't blogged since I really didn't have the energy. The amnio itself is actually a painless procedure (yes, a routine blood test is more painful!!). However, I have had some abdominal pain so didn't go into work on the Wednesday or Thursday. I just rested up at home, getting the most exercise from picking up the TV remote control...

It was a light hearted atmosphere when the amnio was being done (in total there were 7 of us in the room!) We were given a couple more scan photos of Beanie who really has grown since the last one over 3 weeks ago.

Now that the amnio is done, all I have to do is wait and pray. I have a huge sense of peace about the procedure and will just leave the results in God's hands.

Beanie Bray

Well, this is the scan picture at 13 weeks as promised... Rather than refer to our new baby as an"it" we chose the name Beanie.

Since going public on the blog and generally spreading the news, there has been a variety of responses to our news. Some sharing our joy, others are at best unhelpful and not printable!! It reminded me of how things were with Daniel as everyone always had a comment and would let you hear it whether it was constructive or not... Having said that, many many people prayed for us (and still do) so we are hugely grateful that people remember us and reach out to us in this way.

Kevin and I are pretty measured about our news. It is early days and our excitement is also tempered with some anxiety. Will the baby be ok? I am having an amniocentisus (excuse spelling!) on Wednesday. This will definitively tell us whether Beanie will have Downs Syndrome or not. The total results are normally available within 2 weeks. The nearer we get to Wednesday, the edgier I become. Still we will know the outcome before Christmas.

Irrespective of these results this is a little child who will receive (and probably give) much love. With Daniel, whilst he was more complicated than most children it really was a blessing to have him. We just feel that we would like to be prepared this time.

I'll let you know how we get on. For those of you who don't know, I am pretty squeamish so the actual amnio procedure itself fills me with terror (I don't do needles...) It only lasts 10 minutes or so, and then I need to "rest up" for the rest of the day, possibly the next couple of days depending on how I'm feeling. I should be able to sneak to the keyboard and blog though... I could also eat chocolate. At the moment, I am lighter than I was at the beginning of my pregnancy although you could say that I am turning into a bit of a Creme Egg (not just because they reach the parts!!)